COACH MEYER: Couple quick comments about the game: I want to thank our crowd, as I try to remember to do that: The Buckeye Walk, the Skull Session. Incredible experience for our players and a lot of new young guys that I saw a little bit of hyperventilating out there, but I thought they came out of the chute fast. Pretty strong week. And really hard about coming out fast and playing hard. And I think they did, obviously.

Two quick scores. First quarter was script. You can't play much better than our guys did. We're pushing the ball down the field, guys making plays. Special teams, I thought our kickoff team was outstanding.

And then we rough a punter. Then we have the fourth down, we don't make it. Then we throw a screen and it goes the other way.

And in a tight game, you're going to lose that game. So we've gotta learn to fight through those momentum shifts. I do want to give the team we played, Buffalo, a lot of credit and I have a lot of respect for their coach.

I've known him from before. And those guys played hard. They've got a kid that kicked our tails, that outside linebacker, had a couple of sacks, pressures.

I know he beat guys that I expect to play very well on our offensive line. So we've gotta get fixed.

The good thing is we can. When you score 40 points out of almost 460 or something like that and you're disappointed, that's a good sign. And the bad sign is we've got a long way to go.

Defensively, I think we played okay. C.J. Barnett was a gametime decision not to play him. He sprained his ankle I think on Tuesday. Probably could have played. Tried to be smart. Corey Linsley, our center, we played 16, 17 plays. That's when we pulled him. I almost put him back in. Then we had some cramp issues that hurt us.

So we've just got to get our team together. Our offensive line has once Corey is back in there full time. I think Jacoby did fine I don't want to say he didn't do fine. I gotta to find out how he did. I didn't feel the push we needed, and we have to get out of when we lose momentum.

Philly Brown has to get more involved. I can't believe he only had two catches. We have to do a better job with that. The first quarter, like I said, was script. I think 50/50 run/pass on play calls. And that's where we need to be.

I'll answer your questions.

Q. Talk about the defense. Ended up starting nine new guys and obviously Shazier had to leave for a while and stuff. What did you generally see out of them that you liked and didn't like?COACH MEYER: I saw some things I liked. The things that drive you nuts are the little dink and dunks, I feel like we don't trigger on. The secondary just doesn't that ball's in the air, you like, bam, you like to see that. And I didn't feel that. I did feel we tightened up as it went along.

We had two new corners out there playing. You said nine new players on defense? Well, really ten new players for most of the game, right? So we just got a long way to go to get better, and after the film I'll have more for you this week.

Q. You mentioned earlier in the week you weren't happy with the way you guys started off last year. Got off to a much better start this year. But what happened after that?COACH MEYER: Momentum is an amazing thing in college football. The more mature your team is, momentum's only about seven points, I consider it. But if you're immature, especially at certain areas, momentum is a 14 point shift.

And so the blocked punt was just terrible. I think we should have blocked it. And then you think of just the turnovers, three straight turnovers. Fourth down we didn't get it. Might have been four straight right in a row. I'm not sure. But we had a blocked punt where we ran into the kicker.

We had a fourth down, we didn't get it. We threw the ball to them on a screen pass and something else happened, we gave the ball right back. Four series right in a row. We were up 22 0, I believe, when it turned upside down.

The positive is we're 2 0 against a quality football team and when we needed a long drive we did. Kenny Guiton came in like he normally does and did a very nice job.

Q. Actually that dovetails right into my question. I was going to ask: Braxton seemed like he was having cramps and you brought in Kenny for a couple of plays. How well do you think Kenny did in substitution for Braxton? And was there ever a thought to have him try and air it out, because seemed like you had a few handoff plays with Kenny. COACH MEYER: He actually has a broken finger. I don't know if you guys knew that. I think we told you that. He had a broken finger almost throughout all of summer and then training camp again, started bothering him again. He hasn't been able to throw like he normally throws. He's coming back and we're getting him back together.

Q. What did you learn about your team, both good and bad?COACH MEYER: Good is that they're fighters. We had obviously our roster has taken some hits. We're down some players and you had some cramp issues and some young players stepped up.

I like the fact that they fought. I like the fact they jumped out early and they like to play. And that's the positive.

The negative is that you need to sustain consistent effort and intensity. And the offensive line is something that we really rely on. After the film I bet I'll come and say they played okay, but the expectation level of that group was not okay.

But I'll let you know exactly what I thought happened. The guy that played, was it 46, I just know where he played, I can see him standing out there, a really, really good player. And we're very satisfied to win a game. But we also know we have to get a lot better, which is good. Which is good.

Q. Freshman running backs Dontre shows you the quick feet. COACH MEYER: Let him get away. And he had a chance, kickoff return, he looked electric. And then 15 didn't do much, did he?

Q. Couple. COACH MEYER: I'd like to get him more. He has a lot of talent. Jordan Hall, it's good to see Jordan Hall do that for us. And I think our running backs played okay.

Q. Want to ask about the two point conversion plays. They call it the swinging gate. What do you call that?COACH MEYER: Oh, magic.

Q. The rationale behind it, are you just trying to give people something to prepare for down the line?COACH MEYER: It's a pain in the rear end that you have to Coach Warner's done a nice job with that. I think as many ways to get cheap points and make people work, it looked good today. Those guys did a nice job.

Q. Jordan Hall had his longest runs, but how much more effective do you envision him when you have the big boys back running between the tackles?COACH MEYER: I think he'll be fine. I think he gives us that little bit of a hybrid guy that can do both. That was kind of the plan with him. So once we have a full stable back, then he's still going to be certainly involved. And to be able to line up at receiver and motion in and run the ball, that's a good weapon to have.

Q. To have Braxton and Ryan both deal with the cramps, is that a concern at all going forward, or is it just happens sometimes on a hot day?COACH MEYER: It's a concern, yeah, it's a concern. And we I know our strength staff and training staff work hard on the hydration, and I'm not sure if Buffalo cramped. That's the thing that I keep asking myself.

So we gotta just continue to do a good job getting these guys, to make sure that and Evan Spencer cramped, too, I believe. So we had three guys. But it was a hot mother out there now.

So we just have to of course we're going to work on it and we're concerned. We gotta get better.

Q. On the screen, when Mack intercepted that play, does Braxton have to read that, or was there something else that went wrong there?COACH MEYER: Yeah, it's a sunny, clear screen pass to the outside receiver. Something's in the way, you burn it and you live to see the next down. That should never happen.

Q. I thought Braxton looked really good the first quarter, maybe not so much the second. Maybe if you could assess his play. And also four sacks. I know Mack was a beast out there. COACH MEYER: Was it four sacks? That's unacceptable, completely unacceptable. We'll get it fixed.

You asked about Braxton. He was statistics aren't bad, 15 for 22 for 178, two touchdowns. He threw a pick?

Q. To Mack. COACH MEYER: I'll probably see it the way you saw it and I'll get more information to you next week. I thought he came out of the chute fast. We did a good job opening it up a little bit. I think we tightened up a little bit when he started cramping and handing the ball off a little bit. So I think he can play better.

Q. Still on Braxton, it struck me that even though things weren't going very well in the second half, when you really needed it, Braxton broke off some of those runs like he always seems to do. And I know the emphasis has been on improving his passing and all that. Can you just talk about how that's still a pretty big part of what you do?COACH MEYER: They started playing some coverages that great quarterbacks, when you drop eight and you play something we call two man or man under, where they're manning people with deep safeties, it forces you usually you don't see that kind of defense because you have an athletic quarterback.

But I saw the same thing you did, that when we needed a couple of plays, he had a couple of big ones for us. We're back up in a critical, critical situation. He got us almost all the way down the field.

Then he got us that field goal. I can imagine that was about a 70 yard drive, 60 yard drive. Quarterbacks have to do that. It's their job description, to get us out of a jam and be a great player and at times he looked like that today.

Q. I thought Joey Bosa had a pretty dang good game first time out in The Shoe. Looked like maybe the best defensive lineman you had there for a bit. COACH MEYER: I didn't have a chance. Usually I'm talking to the offense. But Joey Bosa we're very pleased to have him as part of the program. His future is kind of silly, if he continues to get going.

Michael Hill I knew played a little bit, 77, and Trey Johnson, linebacker, got in quite a bit. And then you had our two new corners, Doran a lot of new faces.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

"I believe it is the nature of the human species to reject what is true but unpleasant and to embrace what is obviously false but comforting." H.L. Mencken

Also disappointed by Braxton's intermediate and deep passing - - was hoping to see more improvement there. Most of his medium to deep balls were late and underthrown. Fortunately the defenders were turned around and couldn't make plays so some were completed and one was flagged. Its only one game and the first game but I was really hoping to see a major breakthrough in his passing. I didn't see it.

20 point win against a decent Buffalo team isn't terrible but I'm glad we weren't playing a top 10 team.

Grant scares the shit out of me. You cannot be weak at MLB. Grant played the entire game and made maybe 5 tackles (I still haven't found individual defensive stats). We tried this last year, it was a disaster. Your MLB should be making close to 10 tackles per game. The Buckeyes cannot be weak up the middle.

I am ready to pull the plug on Grant, the question is... who's next? Mitchell? Kid didn't play a single snap today.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Maybe Grant did better than I thought. I think I will spare myself a rewatch and wait until next week to see if Grant makes any kind of impact. I think I had about 6-8 beers in my by the 3rd, so my visual acuity may not have been that great. That said, I clearly remember the Bollman playcalling, that I am sure of.

I think with this team we have 2 different OSU offenses. We have the uptempo, crisp team that started the game and we have the other offense. If we get offense #1 most of the year, the Bucks sleep walk to the showdown in AA. scUM looked OK, from what I saw but I left early and missed most of their offensive output.

Next week's game looks much easier than everyone originally thought as SDSU just got their asses handed to them at home by traditional NCAA power house Eastern Illinois 40-19 giving up 533! yards of offense. If you have never heard of Eastern Illinois it might be because they are a middle of the run FCS team.

Base on what I saw yesterday, the SEC is not horrifyingly scary but things can change. I actually thought Georgia looked a little better than 'Bama. Bama's O is not that great based on week 1. I am not so worried about OSU scoring, I am worried about OSU's D getting blown up right up the middle. I am sure 'Bama will improve.

I think the B1G is a little better this year than last. OSU will be better, scUM is better, Nebraska is down, MSU is down, NW is pretty good, who knows about Wisco yet, Indiana/Minny are both leaning in the right direction, and we'll see about PSU. We learn much more about scUM as they go against an overrated but OK ND team.

In the end, OSU's schedule is not going to floor anyone, but I am not worried about style points... they got enough of those last year. No way a 25-0 OSU team does not play for the NC. I know last year's results should not matter, but be real... they do. Human polls make up 2/3s of the BCS formula and OSU will be 1 or 2 in the human polls simply because they will be 25-0 if they win out.

I gotta say, A&M is a different team with that little douchebag on the field. The question is, will he self-destruct before 'Bama comes to town in 2 weeks? He is the Lindsay Lohan of the NCAA. If he doesn't I think it may be OSU vs. aTm.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Once Roby puts Reeves back on the bench the D will be much better. I think the DTs will emerge and improve, MLB is still my biggest concern.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

I share some of your concerns, but the play-calling is not one of them. Meyer scored 40 points without showing anyone else a damn thing about his offense. It was extremely vanilla, even in the running game...very little read option...very little wide stuff, jet sweeps, etc. Nothing to the tight ends in the passing attack. I think he tries to save a lot for Cal and then Wisky. Cal looked a lot better than I expected them to. They were up on Northwestern into the 4th quarter. The freshman QB has a big arm, and they wing it all over the yard.

Edit: Goff was 38 of 63 for 445 yds and 2 TDs. He had two tipped ball pick-6's in the second half that turned the game around.

"I believe it is the nature of the human species to reject what is true but unpleasant and to embrace what is obviously false but comforting." H.L. Mencken

Joey Stayaway made a good point when he said CFB is the only level w out a scrimmage. And that's what that was. A glorified scrimmage.

The Big 10 Bloooooooows!

Better to come out crisp put it away early & then show what needs work than to be Sparty or Purdue. Holla boys seemed ready. Got 3 months for Urbs & Co to coach up da yutes. They'll be aweite.

My fear is the same: undefeated vs SEC.

The Bucks are a year or 2 away.

This is pretty much where I come out. You can see the talent and they won easily enough with Miller looking like he worked on mechanics and with also a ton of teaching points for Urban.

As to the Miller throw for the TD, all I know is if that's Rodgers or Brees making the throw there are people extolling the placement of the throw. So you can look at it that way if you're basing it on the noted improvement Miller showed or you can call it fortunate/lucky if you're remembering Miller last season.

I still say Miller threw the ball with better form at Huber Heights than he did the first two seasons at OSU. I think the Fickell staff fucked him up in year one and Urban began the repair process last season. Yesterday looked a lot more like the upside of his game.

Weird that a Tressel cronie hire, Nick Siciliano, wasn't a great position coach. Tressel's offensive staff was, outside of the RB and WR coaching, was abysmal. It is amazing that the Buckeyes did as well as they did with that that staff.

I think the greatest crime Tressel committed at OSU was letting Jim Bollman collect a paycheck. Can you imagine what Warriner would have done with Brewster, Adams and Shugarts? Those three never improved from their freshmen seasons. They all flashed like they were going to develop into very good OL as youngsters and not one of them ever got any better. That is 90% on the coaching. Meanwhile Warriner takes Bollman's crappy 2011 OL and transforms it in one season to one of the best in the B1G and possibly one of the top 5 units in the country this year.

I agree on the Miller throw, like I wrote in the game. I think the reason we applaud Rodgers and Brees is that their body of work supports the conclusion that the placement was deliberate. Miller's really does not (to this point). I was very impressed with the accuracy, touch and footwork in that game. Those two deep outs were NFL caliber throws.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Interesting discussion on another OSU webpage that I follow.... if you could rate the team's performance on a scale from 1-10 what would you rate it?

I would say a 6. It just feels like a 3 because OSU came out looking like we were going to see a 10.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

6 or 7 would be right IMO. We tend to focus on the imperfections and there were plenty of teachable/coachable points and a few concerns.

But I'm more excited about Miller than I was heading into the game. If they get the OL issues straight (and I think Meyer will do so) then I really am encouraged that Miller may have a taken a 2005 Troy Smith step toward becoming a QB as opposed to a ridiculous athlete.

That may be pre-mature, but I saw things to be encouraged by in that regard.

Offense 8. They got lackadaisical, which can probably be attributed to a combination of heat, and playing down to your opponent, but I still got the sense that they scored whenever they really wanted to score.

Defense 6. Young Young Young Its going to take some time, and god help us if Roby or Shazier ever gets hurt.

Special teams 7.5. Would have been a solid 8 if C. Brown wouldn't have muffed what seemed like almost every punt. Either way this was the most improved unit since last season.

Overall 7. Lot of room for improvement. But I think they get there. Still keeping my prediction of 12-0 season. But on my doomsday clock I will put it at 10:45 pm for 1 loss coming at either NW, or UM.

Sidenote: I was at the game yesterday, I have been to the first game of the season 10 out of the last 12 years, and without a doubt this was the second best crowd out of all the opening days (#1 is 2003 for obvious reasons). Having the students in attendance from jump street is awesome, and they brought it. Not sure I would have liked semesters when I was a student, but as a football fan I am glad they made the switch, even if it means it is more expensive for Alumni like myself to get a ticket now.

"I don't think they're building chemical weapons in Berea. But they might be. I can't say for sure."Chuck Klosterman

I was at the 03 opener too.... what a great environment, yes the '02 Championship was part of it, but playing a decent OOC team at night is always pretty awesome (Washington Huskies).

The 05 Texas game was pretty ridiculous too.

I gotta say, I think we saw what this offense can be at the beginning of yesterday's game. That is the essence of Meyer's O; use the whole field and play with tempo. That first quarter should have scared the shit out of the rest of the B1G... the rest of the game should've given them hope.

Lots of smart football folks are saying that Grant was solid yesterday, so I will have to defer to them and attribute my takes to alcohol related impairment.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Decker looked like a true freshman playing his first career game against an early round NFL draft pick.

Part of the O'Line problems...(as a unit I thought they got pushed around and abused most of the game)...was having Linsley out of the game after 17 snaps at center, and Boren in there the rest of the way.

Speaking of Warinner, though, Meyer credited him with devising the two 2-point conversion plays...and speaking of them...

I thought they were maybe the most interesting aspect to the game. Clearly there was a purpose to showing them on the season's first two TD's against an overmatched opponent on national TV.

Some argue you should save that stuff for a more critical game or moment. Others, that it gives opponents something to worry about and gameplan for...blah, blah.

Whether it turns out to be a smart coaching move remains to be seen...if they run something different (or the same) out of the same set later on...and if it works. What's fun is that they ran two completely different plays...one to the extreme right...the other to the extreme left...out of the exact same look. Someone(?) put both 2-pointers up on YouTube here...

So...want to prepare to stop one...we'll run the other one...or a third option you haven't seen yet...Gameplan your little hearts out, Michigan. Notice that the first team offensive line was in there on both. Notice they had a receiver (TE?) out wide right, so Guiton would have had a pass option should that guy's defender have closed on the ball-carrier

Like I said...smart? We'll see later. I just love the creativity and innovation, if that's what it is...

We've had a decade of predictability. I love this stuff.

Edit: a media member asked Meyer afterwards about the 2-point play: "They call that the swinging gate. What do you call it?"

Meyer: "Oh, magic"

"I believe it is the nature of the human species to reject what is true but unpleasant and to embrace what is obviously false but comforting." H.L. Mencken

Did you see the first long Hall TD? It kind of underscores your point. Linsley was in the game and Pancaked the DT to the right while Andrew Norwell Pancaked the LB over there. It was just kind of funny watching the double pancake. Makes it pretty obvious why no one was anywhere near touching Hall on that play.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

FWIW, the national narrative re: yesterday's game has been pretty positive. More along the lines of "OSU Rolls to Victory" than "OSU shakes off some Rust."

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

I tried to block 05'Texas out, I was at that game to, great seats North end zone , I still see that ball bounce off Hamby's chest in my nightmares. But that wasn't the home opener, we beat Miami the week before it.

"I don't think they're building chemical weapons in Berea. But they might be. I can't say for sure."Chuck Klosterman

Norwell was beat up by that DL he was lined up against too. He was definitely depants'd by pretty much everyone.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Can any of you OL experts tell what Decker's biggest issues are -- not quick enough to play the outside, bad techique, confidence/experience thing? Who is #2 on the RT depth chart? Dodson? If so, any reports on how he looks in practice?

For what it's worth I'm not giving Braxton the benefit of the doubt on the deep touchdown - - if it was a well-timed, back shoulder pass down the sideline of course but that was a late pass in the midddle of the field - - and it's not like it was well timed where the receiver turned around and the ball was there, he had to wait on it.

I actually read a write up from a guy that I really respect and he actually puts the blame on Devin Smith, and it makes a lot of sense. He claims, and I tend to believe it that Smith bent that route into the coverage and that the route should have ended with Smith on the hash at the goal line. If Smith had done that, it would have been a perfect pass. Had it just been a random homer, I would take it with a grain of salt but this guy is typically pretty critical of Braxton's accuracy. Smith definitely did run the safety back into the play.

I did what I said I wouldn't do and I rewatched the game last night. Decker got beat everywhich way till Sunday, but on a positive note, that blown up 4th and short was NOT his fault as some had postulated. Hall missed the block on the MLB, Decker actually did a nice job of letting the OLB on his side run past the play and sealing him out. Boren/Linsley sealed the DT, Hall was supposed to get to the second level and take out the MLB and just didn't.

Honestly, Decker is not ready for prime time. He struggled identifying his assignment. He was bull rushed and shoved off balance on multiple occasions. He generally did a bad job of locking out his arms and riding the OLB/DE out or in. Mack's most effective pass rush was an outside rush to get into Deckers body then a strong punch shoving Decker outside (where he was already leaning because he didn't get his arms into him and his footwork was Meh), then breaking inside of Decker between he and hall.

Mack is not the only guy that beat Decker. Right now Decker is exposed on the outside, and his best shot at being a solid contributor this year inside at guard. He is on too much of an island outside. I haven't seen OL play that bad since Bryant Browning tried to play tackle, or perhaps Kirk Barton during the NCG? In rewatching the spring game, I can tell you that Chase Farris is even worse at OT. There is NO ONE else to come in and contribute. Thank you Jim Bollman.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

YahooFanChicago wrote:Can any of you OL experts tell what Decker's biggest issues are -- not quick enough to play the outside, bad techique, confidence/experience thing? Who is #2 on the RT depth chart? Dodson? If so, any reports on how he looks in practice?

For what it's worth I'm not giving Braxton the benefit of the doubt on the deep touchdown - - if it was a well-timed, back shoulder pass down the sideline of course but that was a late pass in the midddle of the field - - and it's not like it was well timed where the receiver turned around and the ball was there, he had to wait on it.

To more concisely answer your question:

1- Bad first step/flat footed/slow (some combination)2- He definitely lost his confidence, and it appeared as indecision.3- Number 2 used to be Farris, but he is a DL now, so it is probably Dodson.

I am very skeptical about practice reports because these are the same reports that said that Decker was a future Sunday player, and would meld right into the OL right now, so take it with a grain of salt. What I read about Dodson was that he has all the tools to be a Sunday player, but he needs more time in the weight room.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

danwismar wrote:Decker looked like a true freshman playing his first career game against an early round NFL draft pick.

Part of the O'Line problems...(as a unit I thought they got pushed around and abused most of the game)...was having Linsley out of the game after 17 snaps at center, and Boren in there the rest of the way.

Speaking of Warinner, though, Meyer credited him with devising the two 2-point conversion plays...and speaking of them...

I thought they were maybe the most interesting aspect to the game. Clearly there was a purpose to showing them on the season's first two TD's against an overmatched opponent on national TV.

Some argue you should save that stuff for a more critical game or moment. Others, that it gives opponents something to worry about and gameplan for...blah, blah.

Whether it turns out to be a smart coaching move remains to be seen...if they run something different (or the same) out of the same set later on...and if it works. What's fun is that they ran two completely different plays...one to the extreme right...the other to the extreme left...out of the exact same look. Someone(?) put both 2-pointers up on YouTube here...

So...want to prepare to stop one...we'll run the other one...or a third option you haven't seen yet...Gameplan your little hearts out, Michigan. Notice that the first team offensive line was in there on both. Notice they had a receiver (TE?) out wide right, so Guiton would have had a pass option should that guy's defender have closed on the ball-carrier

Like I said...smart? We'll see later. I just love the creativity and innovation, if that's what it is...

We've had a decade of predictability. I love this stuff.

Edit: a media member asked Meyer afterwards about the 2-point play: "They call that the swinging gate. What do you call it?"

Meyer: "Oh, magic"

Personally think he took a lot of his toys down out of the attic and just showed some folks he's got them. Didn't unwrap them or actually play with them but showed 'em off. The two-point plays and some of his weapons that he didn't shoot were still clearly displayed for people to worry about and see on tape.

It seemed like Washington's reps were really limited to get Bosa some experience (who was absolutely fantastic for a freshman).

Great point on Spence. He was noticeably stronger. If OSU had limited the short pass game more by putting the CBs closer to the line, Spence probably has a couple of more sacks.

A-Wash didn't play much. Not sure why, but he didn't.

I am a firm believer that your best players flash as true freshman, and there was plenty of flash out there. Here is my quick list:

-Wilson is obviously going to be electric. He will be an electric change of pace guy who probably works his way up to 10 touches per game by the end of the year.

-Bosa. Already has a big time college physique. Seriously looks like John Simon out there, but with elite size. That was the one issue with Simon, he could've been an absolute terror with Bosa's frame. Matter of fact, freshman Bosa reminds me of freshman Simon.

-Bell. All over the place on ST. Gonna be a nasty safety.

-Jacoby Boren. The future of the C position is fine next year... tackle, well let's hope Evan Lisle is ready to go.

-Tyvis Powell (RS). Looks like he is going to be pretty good too. He just may hold on to that STAR spot. He looks more like a WLB than a safety, big kid.

-Mike Hill. Got a lot of snaps, and did not cause any degradation in the line. He looked like a solid vet in there, not bad for a true freshman playing NT.

.....

Did you guys notice Jamal Marcus got a few Snaps at WDE? He looked really good too. He reminded me of a rich man's Thad Gibson. Quick as shit off the line. Almost had a sack on a 3 step drop.

Can you imagine a lineup of Spence and Marcus at ends with Washington and Bosa in the middle on 3rd and 12?

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Furls, thanks for the info on the RT position...doesn't sound like we have many realistic plan B options if Decker doesn't step it up. I guess they can help with blocking schemes and help from the running back and RG.

I agree with what every one is saying about Bosa as well...true freshman, first game and he looked damn good. Also, seeing him standing next to Spence and he looked giant, he looked much bigger than Spence-- I was surprised by that. He also looked very quick though.

YahooFanChicago wrote:Furls, thanks for the info on the RT position...doesn't sound like we have many realistic plan B options if Decker doesn't step it up. I guess they can help with blocking schemes and help from the running back and RG.

I agree with what every one is saying about Bosa as well...true freshman, first game and he looked damn good. Also, seeing him standing next to Spence and he looked giant, he looked much bigger than Spence-- I was surprised by that. He also looked very quick though.

There is no alternative at RT short of moving Chase Farris back over. If you want to see how bad of an idea that is then just rewatch the spring game. That was a disaster. A-Wash made him his prison bitch.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Cerebral_DownTime wrote:How did we fall to #3 in AP? Did Oregon even play a FBS team?

Nope. Oregon's win was against an FCS team. Dropping them makes sense to me. They played a MAC team and didn't dominate the game. The preseason top 25 is written in mud and OSU did not look like #2 to me. I would say based on that game I thought the looked about 8ish. If they run their offense like the first quarter, they would have made a case for #2.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.